Additionally, the company retained its leading position in online movie viewership for the 12th consecutive quarter, supported by well-received films like the original production A Frozen Rage and theatrical releases such as Upstream. The company also strengthened its lineup of premium female-oriented content through the "Love On Theater" brand, with dramas like Fangs of Fortune driving new member sign-ups.
iQIYI's breakthrough in mini-dramas in 2024 is a notable highlight, which played a pivotal role in driving user growth and monetization. The platform expanded its mini-drama portfolio to over 10,000 titles, capturing 95 percent of the leading mini-drama content providers in the market.
To enhance user experience, iQIYI revamped its apps. The iQIYI Lite app prioritized free mini-dramas to boost advertising-based revenue, while the main app offered mini-dramas through a subscription-based model. These efforts, coupled with optimized content recommendation and ad placement systems, led to a significant increase in the user base and viewing time for mini-dramas. In a milestone achievement, iQIYI recorded its first mini-drama, generating over one million yuan in monthly revenue-sharing income during the fourth quarter.
"Although still in an early stage, we have seen great potential of mini-dramas to bolster our ad inventory and contribute to our ad revenue growth in 2025," Gong said.
iQIYI's overseas markets experienced strong growth, with total revenue and membership services revenue achieving annual and sequential growth in the fourth quarter. Membership revenue from markets outside the Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong, the UK, Thailand, and Australia, increased by over 30 percent year-over-year. The average daily number of overseas subscribing members also grew, with markets like Hong Kong and Thailand seeing over 50 percent annual growth.
The company's original content continued to resonate globally, with Fangs of Fortune becoming the best-performing Chinese drama on iQIYI's overseas platform in 2024. The company's first original overseas variety show, STARLiGHT BOYS, topped local Google rankings for variety shows across several Southeast Asian countries. Encouraged by the popularity of Thai dramas, iQIYI plans to increase investment in original Thai productions.
